Manipur, October 4 Rewben Mashangva & the Old Guys (Sony): Oct 12 Rewben part two
Director: Anushka Meenakshi, Iswar Srikumar; Cinematographer: Anushka Meenakshi, Iswar Srikumar
Duration: 00:41:00; Aspect Ratio: 1.778:1; Hue: 14.898; Saturation: 0.133; Lightness: 0.369; Volume: 0.195; Cuts per Minute: 1.878
Summary: Rewben
Mashangva sings his own genre of music called Naga folk blues and often
performs with his young son. Originally from the Ukhrul district, Reuben
started out singing Tangkhul folk but found himself getting inspired by Bob
Dylan and Bob Marley, whose influences are evident in his work.
Over a few days of conversation with Rewben we got a brief insight into his
music. Apparently he started feeling a bit awkward after a few of his initial
performances. He was very troubled by the differential treatment vetted out to
folk performers vs those who sing in English. There is a clear hierarchy he
says, the ones who sing in English are given better rooms, better money,
different means of transport, but most importantly they seem to be respected
more as musicians. Since then Rewben has spent a lot of time learning English
and has also added English songs to his repertoire and of late has even started
writing his own lyrics in English. But this doesn't stop him from spending time
with older Tangkhul folk musicians and learning their songs. What to do
(something he says quite often, with the 'what' sounding particularly british,
like 'huwaht') English brings to me an audience that I wouldn't otherwise have.
When he runs out of songs, he sings out the newspaper headlines. The print size
is bigger so it’s easier to read, plus it helps me practice my English, he
says. We got quite excited by this and the next time we went to see him, we
took along that days local English newspaper, Sanghai Express. Besides the
altogether yummy quirk factor, this also gave us an opportunity to bring some
of the local news from Manipur out here for you.
Rewben
is one of the most skilled musicians we met on our travels. But what really
impressed us is the rigor in his work and the fact that he gives due credit to
the people he draws his music from. While filming with him he insisted that we
meet some of the ‘Old Guys’, the older generation of folk musicians who he
spends most of his free time with, for learning and researching. Many of them
are the last ones in their communities who can play a particular instrument, or
remember the lyrics to a certain song.
So
we travelled to Yangonpokhpi, about three quarters of an hour from Imphal to
meet Rewben’s teacher Shampang and his wife, who sang one of the most haunting
harmonies we have ever heard.
Equipment, Reuben setting up
Manipur/October 4 Rewben mashangva & the Old Guys/Sony/Oct 12 rewben part two/PRIVATE/AVCHD/BDMV/STREAM/00000.MTS
Imphal, Manipur
Equipment, Reuben setting up
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Equipment, Reuben setting up
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Reuben singing at wedding
TV_protest songs
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Winning Peace Together
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Winning Peace Together
Conversation
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Conversation
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Conversation
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Conversation
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Conversation
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Conversation
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Conversation
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Winning Peace Together
Conversation, strumming
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Sangai Express
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Sangai Express
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Sangai Express
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Sangai Express
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Sangai Express
Sangai Express
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